Nigel Farage and other Brexiteers to be celebrated in new ‘Brexit Museum’

Written by Dods staff on 10 April 2018 in Diary

Diary

It might not be the perfect day out for 48 per cent of the country…

As the second anniversary of the Brexit referendum approaches, Leave campaigners have outlined their next ambitious project. Plans are afoot to establish a 'Museum of Brexit' that will recall for future generations "the story of the struggle for the United Kingdom’s independence".

The organisers – who include former Ukip press chief Gawain Towler – are looking to gather memorabilia, texts of speeches and newspaper cuttings that tell the tale of Britain’s tumultuous 45-year journey to leaving the EU.

The new museum is expected to celebrate Eurosceptic heroes who challenged Britain’s EU membership, ranging from Labour leftwingers Peter Shore and Tony Benn in the 1970s to Tory Maastricht rebels such as Bill Cash and Teddy Taylor in the 1990s.

Of course, Nigel Farage will be also prominent feature with Towler noting that he "has 15 years of Ukip in his garage”. Along with his speeches, selection of Farage’s favourite ashtrays and most striking tweed jackets could feature in the new museum. But there is no word yet on whether Tory Brexiteers Phillip Davies, Peter Bone and Tom Pursglove have offered to donate their ties…

Meanwhile organisers are hoping that that the infamous Brexit campaign bus promising £350m a week for the NHS will be parked in the museum’s forecourt.

Lincoln has been floated as a location for the museum, though no firm decisions have been taken. The East Midlands town had the highest proportion of Leave voters in the referendum.

"Today, there are dozens of academic institutions... at Universities across the world committed to the study of the European Union, and understanding the forces that have driven the project and its integration from the start," said Towler.

"It is time that the other side of the debate was given the suitable central resource base for academic-level analysis and the hub for public reflection it has long deserved. A Centre of European Disintegration Studies if you will."

Naturally, remain campaigners have been quick to poke fun at the plans. James McGrory, who heads the anti-Brexit Open Britain group, said: “It is a shame that this initiative did not come earlier because some things have been lost forever to future generations, like Boris Johnson’s moral compass.

“If all else fails, they could just store Nigel Farage in there. He is a relic from a bygone era after all.”